This week's episode opened with Emily dreaming about her mother, who then morphed into Victoria. Talk about going from a pleasant dream to a nightmare.

When Nolan tries to wake Emily from her nap she manages to strangle him in her sleep -- the list of this woman's skills just keeps on growing.

This episode had nearly everyone conniving someone to get what they wanted. Emily used Daniel to help get Charlotte out of rehab, and then used Amanda to keep Charlotte from leaving the country with Victoria.

Conrad used every excuse imaginable to steal from his daughter's trust, while Victoria turned the tables on the white-haired man, who is probably the only reason she is alive today. Even Ashley jumped into the conniving, somehow working with Conrad (who last week compared her depth to that of a cupcake) to keep Daniel in line.

The trickiest part of this episode had to be Emily working with the white-haired man --when did they become friends? Shortly after I asked myself that, he reminded me that they had not become friends, when he held a knife to her neck and tried to kill her. I continue to wonder why she allows herself to be in the same room as this man, who continues to try to kill her.

When he went back to the cabin to check on Victoria he saw the "clam cam" -- but how did he know to look for it? This leads us to the second mystery of the night, which is who is that man who just saved Emily's life?!

I had to confer with my fellow "Revenge" addict (shout out to Caitlin!) to confirm that he hadn't existed before this season's premiere, but yet for some reason has taken it upon himself to be Emily's protector. Which, obviously, is something she needs. Revenge continues to keep us in suspense!

One thing I am not in suspense about is Declan's latest bad decision. Nothing good can come of him holding on to someone else's diamond bracelet, especially with no reasonable explanation. He reminds me more and more of the beloved Ryan Atwood, who was the walking bad decision of the west coast version of the Hamptons, "The O.C."

I don't know how it is going to end with this new prepster friend, but I think we all know (probably not well).

I'm sure next week will only bring us more conniving, and I can't wait to see how quickly Miss Ashley is put back in her place when Queen Victoria is back in the house. I hope she enjoyed her reign, because it is about to come to an abrupt end.

Best quotes of the episode:

"Conrad, it's Victoria." -- Thank God this man didn't have a pre-existing heart condition, because that phone call would certainly have put him over the edge.

"What now, Revenger?" -- Oh Nolan, your one-liners always get me

"If you need anything at all, I'll be here all summer." -- Emily manages to be both kind and threatening in one simple line

"Looks like the bitch is back" -- for a girl who doesn't always seem so sharp, Amanda could not have said it better.